Another Brave Student Speaks Out

Gage Pulliam last week courageously revealed his identity so that others in his school would not be blamed for forcing the school to take down the Ten Commandments plaques they had in every classroom. Now another brave student is speaking out publicly after filing a lawsuit against her school for flagrantly violating the First Amendment by promoting Christianity. This time it’s the young lady who filed suit over mandatory Christian assemblies at her school in Mississippi.

In order to eradicate any mystery and pretense, I would like to first formally announce that I am M.B., the plaintiff in this case. Moreover, my full name is Magdalene Bedi, although I am better known as Gracie Bedi by classmates and friends.

I abandon anonymity not to call attention to myself, but rather to call attention to the case and better validate its purpose. As a student at the high school, I have been privy to the thoughts and analysis of my peers, and what I’ve heard has been incredibly disheartening. Rather than reviewing the case as one of constitutional rights, I have been written off as an angry atheist, a scorned student, and even as a greedy child looking only for profit. Allow me to defend myself against such harsh conclusions.

I am not an angry atheist. As a matter of fact, I am not an atheist at all. I hold many Christian beliefs and values, and I do not mean to attack the religion or its message. Instead, this is a case about our constitutional right to be free from the government promoting these religious beliefs. Of course, there is nothing wrong with being an atheist. In fact, my friend Alexis, who is bringing this lawsuit with me, is a humanist. But this case is not about our religious beliefs.

I take issue with the fact that my peers and I were forced to attend a preferential religious sermon by a public school administration. The government, and Northwest is indeed a government for all intents and purposes, has no place in dictating the religion of the governed.

Let me point out that it wouldn’t matter if she were an atheist, angry or otherwise. The law is the law and the government may not violate it, regardless of how someone else might characterize the person who seeks to force them to comply with it.